Fireproof safe



TED

JESSE FITZGERALD, OF NEW YORK COUNTY, NEW YORK.

FIREPROOF SAFE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 5,582, dated May 16, 1848.

To all whom may concern Be it known that I, JESSE FITZGERALDLof the county and State of New York, have 1nvented a new and useful Mode of Rendering Safes Fireproof; and I hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description.

To enable others to make and use my invention I proceed to describe its construction, reference beingl had to the drawings hereunto annexed and making part of this specification.

Figure l is a perspective view of the safe; Fig. 2, vertical sect-ion; Fig. 3, ground plan; Fig. 4, bottom of the safe.

There are an outer and an inner casing to the safe, or, in other words, one safe within another leaving a space free on all sides between them. The inner case is made water tight of strong plate iron, and has a door which also shuts water tight. The outer case must also be made of plate iron strong enough to resist pressure of the water and be water tight. The door to this outer case (Fig. l) is double, that is, hollow, to co-ntain water. A hole, H, ismade in the bottom of the safe, Fig. 4, in which the pipe, D, is set. A hole is made in the top of the safe for the outlet F. A leak hole, K, Fig. l, is made in the top of the opening of the safe-and another hole exactly corresponding to it in the top of the door, by which the water passes from the space around the inner safe to the space in the double or hollow door. The inner door is to prevent the water reaching the books.

The pipe, D, which is inserted at the bot- L tom of the safe at I-I, has a stop cock, E in which is fixed a horizontal rod, L, with a weight,.G, at the end. This rod and weight are held up by some combustible cord, I. Vhen there is a iire the cord will be burned off and the water (from some fountainhead connected with the pipe, D,) will be admitted into and through the space between the two cases of the safe. Vhen the spring burns off-the weight, Gr, falls and thus turns the stop cock so as to admit the water and if there be fire enough to do any injury this result must inevitably take place. The water being admitted, it fills the space B, Fig. 2, and thus entirely surrounds the inner casing of the safe, the door being also filled. There is a hole, K, at the top of' the door opening--another hole corresponding to it in the outer door at top. When the water is let in, it will fill also the door and flow out at the key hole.

By this arrangement, in case of fire, water will be made to flow rapidly on all the six sides of the safe and be thrown out into the room and thus help extinguish the fire. Thus, however intense the fire the contents of the safe can not be injured.

This kind of safe is more especially intended to be built in a permanent and safe wall so that the pipes conveying the water may not be destroyed by the falling of the building. The arrangement will however apply to any safes. A strong current of air, instead of water, would serve the same purpose.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. The combination of the pipe, D, (leading from a head of water) with its arrangement of stop cock, lever and string, with the space, B, all around the inner casing of the safe, for the purpose of making a safe fire proof.

2. I also claim the combination of the hole, K, in the top of the door opening and the corresponding one in the door,with4 the hollow space in the door for the purpose of rendering the door fire proof, in the manner above described.

Given under my hand at the city of New York this first day of May 184:7.

JESSE FITZGERALD.

In presence of- OWEN G. VARREN, I DANIEL FITZGERALD. 

